Truckers travelling across the four western provinces will face consistent operating rules when using trailer units, which will lower hauling costs and increase efficiency within the industry, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton announced Feb. 8.
“This agreement will benefit our trucking industry because it means big trucks travelling to and from Manitoba will have more consistent requirements including those for weights and dimensions,” said Ashton. “We worked with the other provinces and four western trucking associations on this harmonization, which will help trucking firms, industries, farmers and Manitoba’s economy by lowering hauling costs. We will continue to work with these groups to further harmonize trucking regulations.”
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Commercial truck-trailer combination units, called long combination vehicles (LCVs), have been operating on highways across Western Canada for about 30 years. However, trucking firms have faced different operating rules in the four western provinces.
A memorandum of understanding signed by Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia creates uniform standards that ensure road safety for all motorists and protects highway infrastructure, the minister said.
The memorandum of understanding harmonizes rules on weights and dimensions of LCVs, driver qualifications and training, maximum speeds, and hours of operation.
“We are very pleased with this announcement as it will allow many firms, including ours, to operate LCVs more efficiently while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions,” said Don Streuber, president of Bison Transport Ltd.
The City of Winnipeg and the City of Brandon were also involved in the creation of the new rules, said Ashton.
Updated information on Manitoba’s trucking policies is available at www.gov.mb.ca/mit/divisions.html.
